In July 2002, I caught and released what was then my biggest Kenai king in three decades, a huge hen measuring 50.5 inches snout to mid-fork. The guy who netted it for me had a rather undersized net, and after three tries, I was convinced the fish would come unbuttoned before it came to hand. On the fourth try he finally managed to get that she-pig head first into the bag. The only problem was there was nearly a foot of tail still sticking out of the net. WHEW! were we lucky to get that fish in!



I vowed never to let that happen again, so this past July, I bought a magnum sized Beckman 'Columbian' net with an extra deep bag. Boy am I glad I did!

On July 29, I caught and released a huge buck (the avatar fish) that measured 53" x 31 3/4 " from the very same spot that I pulled that giant hen out of the year before. This time around, the net just swallowed that mega-king like a trout sipping pellets at a hatchery pond.

I wrote Beckman a letter of thanks to let them know they have a great product, and sent in a picture to prove just how good it worked for me! My all time biggest king in thirty seasons of fishing! They replied with a request to use the photo in one of their upcoming catalogs, and I said OK.

I was a bit surprised when I got my copy of STS in the office a couple weeks ago. It was their idea to run the photo in the ad. I agree with FCTS, pretty cool!

Can't say enough about how valuable a big deep bag can be in landing really big kings. The other advantage is the big loose bag doesn't smother the fish and tear up its fins like an undersized bag will. A big plus when it comes to releasing these very special fish!